Lost Broken Shards
by Abel's Ark
Summary: After an accident that shatters her very soul, Kaoru is faced with the task of finding every last piece of what she once was. With the arrival of a confusing red head, her journey makes a turn from the path she chose, to the path he was leading her to. KK
1. Valhalla

**Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai X**

**Chapter One**

**Valhalla**

The silence of the pristine white hallway was unnerving but expected, since the area required absolute silence for the researchers to do their work. The marble floor shone so flawlessly that they reflected the ceiling and the glass benches by the walls. The lights overhead showed no signs of going out and the floor held not a speck of dirt. There were only four doors in that hall; two of which were on the either side of the corridor, made of metal and guarded by stern looking soldiers. The third metal door lead to a simple room with a clean white bed and an unused chair by the window. The last one contained a room full of researchers, machines, and the sounds of working doctors.

Everyone was occupied inside that room, making sure that their patient was well-cared for and wasn't experiencing any difficulties. There was only one doctor outside the room, feeling the dread of knowing what the ending results of the tests were going to be.

Megumi Takani, the renowned flower of Bio Corporation's Medical and Research Division, watched her patient perform a number of tests regarding physical fitness with both pride and remorse. She watched the little girl, whom she had been trying to cure for three years run, lift objects, and perform stretches. So far, nothing went wrong. The patient was able to do the most basic of movements and had the possibility of being able to do much more. This sent a surge of satisfaction and delight to Megumi's assistants who had equally spent a like amount of time working on the girl.

From the one-way window, Megumi touched the glass with gentle fingers, wanting to reach out to the child inside the room. The physical tests didn't worry her. She knew that they would all result in positive readings. Looking at the girl's blank face however, made the good doctor clench her other hand into a tight fist of dread. It was the upcoming tests, the mental and psychological ones that she feared the most.

Megumi had been able to save the girl's life through a series of long and delicate surgeries, but at what price?

Twelve year old Kaoru Kamiya may have had her body back, possibly even better than before, but her heart and mind were long gone.

Megumi reminisced about the time when Kaoru had been brought to her. The nine year old was in a bloody mess. Her two legs were broken, an arm was sprained, three ribs were cracked, several cuts and bruises decorated her small body, and her head was bleeding profusely. She had been told that Kaoru and her friends had been in the way of an out of control cyborg from Bio Corp. The result had been an all out massacre. Kaoru was the only survivor. The others were either ripped apart or beaten until all of their bones were broken.

At that time, Megumi had been able to diagnose Kaoru as having been injected with ECM serum, a liquid developed especially for the brain of the cyborg that injured her. And it was fast destroying her mind and body. Knowing that if nothing were to be done soon, Kaoru would either die or retreat into a comma. So, Megumi decided to operate on her brain first but what she saw once she opened the girl's cranium was horrifying. The ECM serum was eating her brain like acid.

The doctor had narrowed her eyes and barked orders in the room that sent her assistants into a frenzy. Three hours later, Kaoru's brain had completely been cleaned of the serum but the remaining part of her brain was not enough to sustain her. As it was, Kaoru was only being kept alive because of the infusion of nanomachines into her bloodstream, replacing the basic commands of the brain. There was only so much that nanomachines could do however and Megumi was forced to admit that she had lost a patient since no one in their right mind would volunteer to have their brains removed and given to Kaoru. That was when Tae came in, carrying a replacement brain in a container. The brain was perfect for Kaoru. The only problem was that only one-fourth of it was real. The other parts were made out of metal and wires.

Megumi had wanted to ask questions but Tae had taken over the surgery, throwing the other doctor out of the room. She had absolutely no idea what Tae did to make the surgery a success.

Once Kaoru was out of the emergency room, the girl had been brought to Megumi's laboratory to be taken care of. She made sure that Kaoru's damaged organs were brought back to their one hundred percent capability. Her internal organs that had been bleeding and destroyed were repaired by nanomachines. The muscles that the ECM serum had rendered useless were brought to life by injecting them with cultured biognets, a type of living nanomachine that reconstructed muscles and completely restored their functions, although it takes almost a year for the process to actually yield an outcome. Her bones, however, were another thing. The ECM serum had been able to travel so far as her bones before they had been able to remove it and so, they were damaged beyond the healing capabilities of nanomachines. Left with nothing else, Megumi decided to fill the huge gaps in her bones with the metallic alloy that was used in cyborg genetics.

_And now,_ Megumi thought as she watched Kaoru type a message using only ones and zeros, _I don't know whether I regret what I did or not. To live like some machine even though you're not…would it have been better if she had died feeling completely human?_

Megumi leaned her forehead on the glass and closed her eyes.

_Please forgive me._

-

Prima Mel 6th District (Aamon), Julia Bar

April 12, 3062

Prima Mel, a colony that was established five hundred years ago by Iron Hand Millennia Crantz, had come a long way from being one of the rural suburbs of the Galaxy Treaty Federation (GTF). Today, through the miracles of life extensions, Millennia Crantz still ran the colony with an iron hand. The colony had grown, now able to accommodate an entire fleet of battle ships ready for war and countless Humanoid Armored Crafts (HAC) for world tournaments and real life battle. Prima Mel's spaceports was known throughout the galaxy as one of the largest and well equipped.

In addition to this, the colony also contained within its 4th District (Belias) a floating coliseum for HAC tournaments and a research facility for androids and cyber genetics. Prima Mel also contained a forest where actual fauna and flora were found in abundance.

To most HAC pilots, the only places that mattered to them in Prima Mel are the coliseum, the various GAU parts shops, and the Julia Bar. The Julia Bar is a famous place for HAC pilots because it is the only bar with the permit for simulated HAC battles. Professionals and amateurs come together to test their abilities against one another and to gather information on their opponents.

On the outside, the only way you would be able to tell that you were in the right place was the small neon sign beside the stairwell. The stairwell was clean and free from the graffiti that usually came with a bar. At the bottom of the steps was a double door made out of iron which automatically opened to let customers inside. Julia Bar is a huge place filled with tables and calm music. The floor was covered with a thick rug that changed colors every week. A stage was located at the far center wall where a female lounge singer would usually play the piano and grace the people with her voice. There were three doors in all. One was for the bathroom located on the far left wall. The other two were by the far right wall, both leading to the VR set for simulated HAC battles. A small camera was in the center of the ceiling. When HAC battles begin, the camera produces a holographic image of the battle going on in virtual reality.

The Julia Bar was always full of patrons except for today. Only a handful of the regulars were drinking and talking. It was in one of the empty tables that a man wearing black pants and a white shirt sat. His long blood red hair, tied in a low tail, seemed to become more pronounced in the shadows . All in all, he looked like an ordinary person with the exception of his hair but anyone who knew how to read body language would stay well away from him.

His movements were both graceful and deliberate, a definite sign that he had studied some sort of self-defense style. His amethyst eyes were always scanning his surroundings, checking for potential threats as well as potential weapons to be used. And his presence, though not that noticeable at first, was like a hunter's going after its prey.

Kenshin Himura, more commonly known as Himura Battousai and the pilot of the famous HAC Ragnarok, was currently enjoying his tea. It wasn't everyday that he got some time to himself and he was savoring every moment of his freedom. With precise movements, he sipped his tea with a relaxed smile. He was in a good mood because all the regular customers were out, probably busy watching the tournament right now.

He had no interest in those boring fights. He'd seen much more experienced fighters out in the field. In fact, as one of the captains of Seijuro Hiko's personal guards, he had seen battle ships being destroyed by HACs and vice versa. HACs were made to kill so why would he be interested in a fight that used killing machines for sport? Besides, it was his day off and he would much rather spend it doing less violent things than watching people try to out do each other with bazookas and missiles and call it entertainment.

Unfortunately, even with his day off, he still had some reading to do. Aoshi had provided him with information on possible new recruits for Hiko's little missions.

He picked up the folder and turned to the first page. A picture of a man with black hair and bandages was the first to greet him. His red eyes were full of hidden glee for bloodlust.

_Name: Shishio Makoto_

_Age: 31_

_Sex: Male_

_Occupation: Pilot of HAC Brigadier and leader of the resistance faction Grimword_

_Shishio Makoto_, Kenshin thought as he stared at the picture. The man had been in an accident during a battle and the fire ended up burning every inch of his body. Even though Kenshin knew that Shishio had already undergone operation to fix his skin, the man still wore those bandages around his face. He had announced once that it was because he didn't want to forget the pain of being in flames. Kenshin liked to think that it was because the surgery didn't go exactly as planned.

Grimword was an organization created by Shishio ten years ago. They resisted the production of androids and most especially, infusing robotic parts within the human body. A lot of the medical advancements brought about today had all been because robotic parts were being installed into the human body. People who were born without legs were given a chance to walk and those with weak hearts were cured because of those robotic parts.

Kenshin rather thought that Shishio was a hypocrite. His skin had been cured by injecting nanomachines into his blood. He had literally been living with a colony of microscopic androids for a year.

What's more, Grimword was responsible for the destruction of Alkaid's Sector Seven. That sector had been full of android development facilities and hospitals where people were being treated with cyborg genetics. He had killed everyone there, even the humans without robotic parts inside of them. Even though they still didn't have evidence, Kenshin had been there to see the genocide with his own eyes.

No. The answer was definitely no. Shishio's ability with a HAC was known throughout the star cluster but Kenshin would rather work with a person that he wouldn't be targeting in the near future.

He turned to the next page.

A man with brown hair and brown eyes stared back at him from the paper. He had a cocky grin on and…was that a fishbone he was munching on?

_Name: Sanosuke Sagara_

_Age: 25_

_Sex: Male_

_Occupation: Pilot of HAC Wyvern and a member of the Sekihutai_

Now this was interesting. Sekihutai was a mercenary guild. They often took jobs that included defending cargos from thieves and sometimes providing last minute backups for the army. To be a part of the Sekihutai, one had to own their own HAC and prove their skills through winning the Winter Cup in the HAC tournaments.

Kenshin raised a brow as he read the next paragraph. Apparently, Sanosuke had won the Winter Cup five times and was still the reigning champion. His HAC was a heavy unit, relying on brute strength instead of tactics. One of the sides of Kenshin's mouth quirked upward. Why indeed would you rely on tactics if just one punch from your HAC would send a good number of your enemies packing?

Interested, Kenshin read the whole page dedicated to Sanosuke but everything else were about his accomplishments as a participant in HAC tournaments except for one thing. Sagara apparently went on a mission six months ago and had returned empty handed. Not only that, his HAC had been almost completely destroyed. According to the file, he was supposed to have abducted a certain personnel on board the Armageddon, a Bio Corporation freight class ship.

Kenshin wasn't interested in what Sanosuke had been after but rather who had stopped him. As far as Kenshin knew, Bio Corporation didn't own any HAC, nor had enough artillery on the Armageddon to battle a HAC as strong as the Wyvern. At least, that was how it was when Tae Sekihara ran the company. Ever since the new president took over, a lot of things had begun to change within the corporation.

He turned to the last page.

Kenshin raised one scarlet brow as he stared at the picture. It had been taken when the woman was unaware, which meant that she was unregistered in the Galaxy Federation's Catalogues. She was sitting on a park bench, just staring at the fountain. Her long black hair was tied in a high tail and she was wearing a white uniform. Her blue eyes seemed distant, as if she was thinking about something and yet, her posture remained alert and ready to spring to action at any moment. He wondered if she had studied some form of martial arts.

_Name: Kaoru Kamiya_

_Age: 19_

_Sex: Female_

_Occupation: Pilot of HAC Valhalla_

Kenshin frowned as he read the unusually short report about the pilot.

_A rookie that made her debut last year's Spring Festival. Not much is known about her but from what we were able to gather, she prefers using her speed to outwit her opponents. The last time we were able to see her fight, she used a steel scythe as a weapon and tore her opponent in half. She backed out during the finals and hadn't joined any tournaments since then._

_Her sudden appearance at this week's tournaments has revived last year's rumors about her. The people say that she's like a computer in the battle field. It seems that she studies her opponent first and then finds a way to use the environment to her advantage. She is currently residing in the Artemis Inn in the 3rd District. She seems to always be accompanied by a female researcher, Megumi Takani, from Bio Corporation._

_That is all we have been able to gather. You can check the files on Megumi Takani in your e-mail. _

It was unusual that Aoshi hadn't been able to gather anymore information about her since the stoic man was the best when it came to gathering data.

_This Kaoru must be really careful if even Aoshi doesn't have much to contribute,_ he mused as he finished off his tea, _I wonder what happened that made her quit in the middle of a fight…_

The sound of the entrance doors opening caught his attention and he swung his violet eyes to the doorway. Two people entered, both were female. The taller one was dressed like a doctor. Her black hair was loose and her skin was pale but it was her companion that captured and held his interest.

She was wearing a fitting sleeveless white uniform that's skirt ended five inches above her knees. She had white gloves on and each of her arms was wrapped in black cloth that had some sort of blue neon lining at the ends. She wore a simple pair of white knee boots and black leggings that had the same blue neon linings. It was the same uniform he had seen her wearing in the picture.

What was Kaoru Kamiya, pilot of Valhalla, doing here? Shouldn't she be watching the fight going on in the coliseum instead?

-

Kaoru looked around the bar, silently noting the few patrons drinking alcohol. Her programmer, Megumi, was talking to the bartender about using the VR system for HAC battles. It was incorporated into her system that she seek out potential threats to her programmer and herself, and so, she did. Her blue eyes stopped on a pilot that was clearly drunk and was about to pass out.

_Name: Ichigo Yumasaki_

_Age: Unknown_

_Sex: Male_

_Weapons: None_

_Station: Pilot of HAC Sidhe_

_Hazard Rate: Minimal_

Her eyes swung to the next person, apparently dismissing the first one to be harmless, that was talking animatedly with a female civilian.

_Name: Gai Daidoji_

_Age: Unknown_

_Sex: Male_

_Weapons: None_

_Station: Civilian_

_Hazard Rate: Minimal_

She moved her gaze once again, knowing that Daidoji was far too interested in the female human to attack her programmer. Then her eyes locked with _him_. A customer with red hair and amethyst eyes that somehow had swirls of amber within them. He was looking at her, as if daring her to stare at him any longer. How long had he been looking at her? She blinked and commanded her brain to come up with any information about this person. It took a few seconds before the data came up.

_Name: Kenshin Himura_

_Age: 25_

_Sex: Male_

_Weapons: None_

_Station: Pilot of HAC Ragnarok and captain of the Lanark guards under Commander Hiko Seijuro_

_Hazard Rate: Critical_

_'…Critical,'_ she thought as she continued searching for information. How could he be critical? As far as she her scan was concerned, he wasn't carrying any type of weapon and he looked less intimidating than the other pilots. But then again, her artificial mind replaying the conversation she had with her doctor last year, Megumi had told her that she should be wary of the people that she would be meeting. Her exact words were "looks can be deceiving". At that time, she had made a conclusion based on the physical environments in a battle field.

"_Looks can be deceiving."_

"_I fail to comprehend."_

"_Kaoru, sometimes people can camouflage themselves. They hide their true selves to other people."_

"_You are saying that they use stealth suites and attack at the moment of one hundred percent success rate. I understand. I will be on my guard."_

"…_Close enough." _

Now, however, as she continued to stare at the man drinking tea (_free of charge due to a membership card)_, she began to put the two pieces of datum together and had come up with one conclusion. People could also hide without using stealth suites. They could blend with the crowd and use their cover for their advantage. Protocol required her to tell Megumi of this observation but it was imperative that she keep an eye on Kenshin Himura as long as her programmer was in the vicinity. She would have to wait till she reported back to headquarters.

"Kaoru," the doctor said breaking her concentration on data gathering and making Kaoru look at Megumi, "the VR set here is not compatible with your brain waves. Let's head back to the inn. We have no further business here."

"Acknowledged."

Without warning, Kaoru grabbed Megumi's pen and turned around, ready to jab the writing material into one of Himura's eyes. Just one suspicious motion from him and she would act accordingly. For some reason, he had been able to move behind her without her noticing. In fact, the _only_ reason that she had been able to notice him at all was his shadow. She had seen his shadow move and stopped on the stool behind her.

He looked perfectly relaxed, sitting there and ordering another tea. Kaoru knew better. Even though his bangs were long and hid most of his eyes, she could tell that he was looking at her.

"Kaoru, what's the matter?"

"...It is nothing significant," she replied as she continued to stare at Kenshin, "I apologize for taking your writing instrument," she said and gave Megumi back her pen but didn't take her eyes off the man. Then, they both calmly walked away, Megumi looking at her companion oddly and Kaoru shielding her programmer from any possible assault from Kenshin.

As they exited the bar, Kenshin could only smirk in approval. The girl had been quick to react and had been resourceful enough to find a weapon. He could understand now what Aoshi had seen in her. What's more, the girl had actually thought that he had been targeting her companion and had made sure that she was always in between them. It was important in his line of work that the people he worked with watched each others backs and she did that with utmost precision. She hadn't even told her companion of the danger that was staring at her in the face. Possibly because Kaoru hadn't wanted her friend to panic.

Where did the report say she was staying at? The Artemis Inn?

He chuckled as he sipped his new tea. He was looking forward to contacting her. But first, he needed to see just how good she was with her HAC. Perhaps visiting the coliseum won't be so boring after all.

-

Humanoid Armored Craft Valhalla had a unique design. One hundred feet in height, Valhalla was considered a small HAC. It was slender, like a woman's body, and silver white in color. It had two pairs of unattached silver wings with golden linings. They were positioned at its back and were kept afloat by electric fields generated by the blue armored shoulders. Its head looked like it had a neon blue and gold feathered helmet on, making it look like a heavenly knight. Its neon blue armor was light, only composing of two bangles, one medieval designed knee guard, and one thin blue chest plate that had silver and golden wings at the middle.

The command central of the unit was also a bit different. While most crafts had several levers and buttons for operation, Valhalla had one lever on the left, a direction pad on the right, and holographic buttons to the upper right used to check for damages and scanning. Valhalla solely depended on its rider's wavelengths. It responded to its rider's mind and moved the way that the pilot wanted it to.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Valhalla is operating at one hundred percent output."

_Attention. Participants for the first round, please proceed to the hangar. The battle will begin in five minutes. _

"I guess that's your cue. Alright Kaoru. Switch to battle mode."

"Acknowledged. Switching to battle mode."

"Kaoru…make sure you come back in one piece alright?"

"Is that an order?"

"…Yes it is."

"Acknowledged. I will do my best."

Then the communication link was cut off. Kaoru waited for the elevator to take her and her HAC to the upper floor where the battle was too commence. Her opponent would be Ichigo Yumasaki, HAC Sidhe. She was well aware of what he was capable of. His HAC, though named Sidhe, was the KPX-7000. Light blue in color with medium light armor, it was the standard HAC for pilots of low funding. Its legs were longer than normal and it didn't have a neck so its sight range was limited. It had powerful artillery in both close and ranged combat. It was also slow and didn't have many reflexes.

It was in this regard that Valhalla was far more superior. And so, Kaoru had no doubt that she would be able to complete this mission without so much trouble.

Megumi had warned her that she should just render the enemy craft incapable of moving instead of letting it explode and killing the fighter inside instantly. It was the rules of the tournament. If you were to kill your opponent, you were immediately disqualified and not allowed to enter any other tournaments for the next five years. It was what made the tournaments so famous. People were trying to damage one another but they weren't trying to kill each other.

Kaoru did not understand the logic between the battles that occurred in the tournament. In her mind's eye, she found it pointless to enter into battle and not destroy an enemy completely. Such compassion would endanger yourself and your allies to future assaults. She had voiced her opinions to Megumi the day before and the doctor had replied in a very informative manner, just like always.

"_Think of it as a training ground. It's a lot harder to strike down an opponent without killing them than it is to quickly blow them apart."_

Megumi had a point. She had double checked her queries then and found them completely answered by the doctor's two simple sentences so she refrained from voicing them out. Kaoru closed her eyes and sighed, a little downhearted. Then she blinked and cocked her head to the side. What was that? What had that strange reaction been for? It was the second time that it had occurred. The first time had been when she had participated in the Spring Festival. She had felt…unable to do anything. A sort of resignation to her duty and…something else.

Her brain waves had become unstable then and Megumi decided to call off the tournament. Was that anomaly happening once again? Could it have something to do with Valhalla and not her own system structure? But she didn't feel any different and her brain waves were normal according to the numbers that appeared on the upper left hand corner of her screen. She needed to inform her programmer of this strange phenomenon.

_Please stand clear of the Humanoid Automaton Craft Elevators. The elimination round is about to begin._

Kaoru took a deep breath, just as Megumi instructed and immediately felt better. It was time and she was not going to allow any anomaly in her system to get in her way of following Megumi's orders.

Following orders, after all, was what she was created for.

-

Clad in a simple white button shirt and slacks, Kenshin watched with a small smile as the elevators brought the two HACs into the surface. A hypersphere, a type of spherical electric shield, sealed the two combatants from the audience. Kenshin was situated at the VIP box, where he could get a full view of the whole battlefield. Misao Makimachi, Aoshi's dependable assistant was beside him recording the battle with the hidden video cameras in her glasses.

Unlike his simple civilian attire, Misao wore the blue uniform of the Oniwabanshu proudly. The deep blue button shirt and slit skirt was "the bomb" at these times. And what better way to get good seats than to show that you were with someone very important?

"Is that a new model? It's so beautiful. I've never seen anything like it before," Misao said as she adjusted her glasses to zoom in on Valhalla. Her blue eyes sparkled in interest as she examined every part of the craft that she could. The wings and feet had flight engines which was unique. Usually, a HAC contained only one flight engine because of the amount of energy it required to operate and that would always be located at the feet.

Kenshin didn't say anything. He was too busy trying to figure out where Kaoru Kamiya had gotten her craft. He knew everything about the latest developments on HACs and he had never heard of such a model. It looked weak despite its beautiful appearance, but as they say, looks can be deceiving,

_Let's see how good you are Miss Kaoru._

"Oh my gosh, Kenshin! My sensors indicate that Valhalla's burning only five hundred electron fuel per minute! What kind of generator is she using? It's theoretically impossible to move a HAC with only that much energy!"

"Not really," Kenshin answered as he smirked and looked sideways, "Would you care to explain how Valhalla is able to move Miss Megumi?"

Upon hearing her name, Megumi glanced at Kenshin and then to the hyperactive girl. Both were looking at her expectantly. The man, she remembered, was the one at Julia Bar yesterday. The one that Kaoru had looked suspiciously at. But the girl, she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before; but if her uniform indicated anything, she was part of the famous Oniwabanshu, an information network that was under Hiko Seijuro's command. They probably investigated every participant of this tournament and since she was Kaoru's partner of sorts, they had read through her files as well.

She was irritated at the breach of privacy but understood that it was their job to be goddamn know-it-alls.

"I'm sure you can explain it better than me since you obviously know the theory behind it," she answered as she looked back at the battle field. The signal to start had yet to be announced and she was getting jittery. What if Kaoru's waves became unstable again?

"I wasn't the one who developed the theory behind it so I'm quite certain that you, the developer, would do more justice the theory."

At this, Megumi stared at the man with an irritated face. The infuriating (though she had to admit, he was cute) man kept on his innocent smile. With a 'hmph' and a toss of her black hair, she began her explanation.

"It's called weight distribution. Part of the reason why HACs require so much energy to run is because they're so heavy. So the developers probably cut down on the weight of Valhalla."

"Wow. I didn't think it was possible to find such lightweight materials," Misao said as she zoomed her glassed out.

It was at the tip of Megumi's tongue to point out that they hadn't used lightweight materials but rather different parts to build Valhalla but if she did, then she would give away the fact that she knew Valhalla's blue prints. And that was attention she didn't want. At least not at this moment.

"Do you think that Valhalla will win Miss Megumi?"

"I don't know. It all depends on Kaoru, I suppose." It was a lie. She knew that Kaoru would win. The KPX-7000 didn't stand a chance against Valhalla's new artillery and speed. She snuck a glance at the red headed man beside her and found him studying her with a slightly smug smirk. What the hell was he so proud about?

"It's starting!"

Megumi turned her eyes to catch Valhalla walking towards the other craft. Kaoru's HAC didn't have a weapon within reach but the way that it moved suggested that it was confident that it could take whatever the enemy threw at it. The KPX-7000 locked on the approaching Valhalla and readied its homing missiles. Two steps and it fired three at once.

Then it started shooting with its plasma rifle.

Valhalla didn't stop its confident stride. It raised its right hand and a distortion in the air appeared. Electricity started generating from the distortion and the hand gripped something. Then with one mighty pull, the feeble looking limb was able to break the distortion and produce a steel pole. One end lighted up and a curved blade made out of sonic beams transformed.

"NO WAY! Is that a phase transfer?!" Misao exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat to get a better look.

Then Valhalla _flowed_ sideways to dodge the incoming bullets from the plasma rifle.

_Three._

The missiles approached and in response, Kaoru's craft raised its scythe and slashed at the air, creating electronic waves that hit all three missiles. The cutting air and the electronic waves caused the missiles to explode in mid air.

_Two._

The people cheered and murmurs of approval reigned. Kenshin watched on, not the least bit impressed with Kaoru's demonstration of skills. He had seen better moves out there with regular HACs.

_One._

The opponent HAC released a barrage of missiles at once and continued firing at Kaoru's Valhalla, making it block the barrage of bullets with its scythe so that its momentum was disturbed. It would be impossible to avoid the oncoming onslaught of projectiles if she didn't do anything about the situation. Exclamations of disbelief shot through the crowd.

"What the hell is Yumasaki doing?!"

"Is he trying to get her killed?"

"What's the hell's going on?!"

"Someone stop the fight!"

Kenshin narrowed his eyes as he looked on. If Kaoru were to die here, then she wasn't good enough to join Lanark. Such circumstances always occurred in the real battlefield. Megumi discreetly checked her holographic compact computer. The report indicated that Kaoru's brain waves were perfectly normal and she smiled in satisfaction before she turned it offline but not without Misao noticing it.

_Zero._

"Activate jet engines," Kaoru spoke and Valhalla's eyes lit up. The jet engines ignited, making Valhalla all the more lighter so that it didn't just stand on the ground. It was floating three feet above it. Then it hunched over, its wings positioning themselves for mid-flight, and…disappeared, leaving behind a sort of blue flame that quickly dissipated.

Valhalla reappeared right in front of Yumasaki's craft. The barrage of missiles approached the hypersphere and exploded as it touched the electronic shield. The audience watched in fascination at the multiple explosions. Some were angry that they couldn't see what was going on because the fire and smoke blocked their view but the others were just too mesmerized by how fast Valhalla had moved to really give a damn.

With a flick of the wrist, Valhalla tore the KPX-7000 into two horizontal halves. The legs gave out and the craft fell to the ground. Kaoru moved fast and before Yumasaki could react, the scythe's blue beam blade was by its neck, ready to cause more damage if necessary. Yumasaki stared at the devil coated in flames face to face and felt powerless to do anything.

"I…I give up," he whispered, too scared to make his voice any louder.

As if hearing the silent surrender, Valhalla withdrew its scythe from Sidhe's neck and it disappeared into thin air.

_Yumasaki surrenders! The first round goes to Kamiya and her Valhalla!_

"HOLY CRAP! Did you see that Himura?!"

"Yes. Yes I did."

Megumi breathed a sigh of relief and turned her computer online. The holographic green screen and keyboard appeared in front of her. She typed a few letters and Kaoru's image shot up. The girl looked perfectly normal and completely unconcerned about her fantastic victory. Even now, Megumi could here the exclamations of the audience's praise of Kaoru's fighting ability.

"Kaoru, are you alright?"

"My scanner is down by .5 percent. Other than that, I am fine."

"Good. We'll fix that decreased value later. Wait for me at the hanger."

"Acknowledged...Megumi-san, Makimachi Misao is behind you. I propose hitting her with your elbow or stab your pen between the third and fourth ribs to ensure maximum damage."

Megumi looked behind her and surely enough, the girl that she had earlier been talking to was grinning from ear to ear as she stared at Kaoru's image. She looked back at Kaoru and noticed that Valhalla was staring at them. The doctor had no doubt that if its full power was unleashed, Valhalla could very well get through the flimsy hypersphere.

"No Kaoru! It's alright! It's not a life threatening situation!"

"Acknowledged. I will proceed to the hangar."

And with that, Kaoru cut the communication link and made Valhalla walk to the elevators. Megumi only started to breathe when Kaoru's craft started to drop slowly into the underground hanger for repairs. Sometimes controlling Kaoru was a bit too much, even for her.

"So that's Kaoru. She's really talented Miss Megumi. She's in the hangar right? Come on Kenshin! Let's go meet her!" Misao said and then proceeded to drag Kenshin away from his seat.

"I will not permit it!" Megumi said as she stood up and glared at Misao, "Listen here weasel girl. Kaoru isn't in any condition to receive guests."

That was another lie but they didn't need to know that.

"And what condition is that Miss Megumi?" Kenshin asked as he stood up and looked at Megumi, his face etched in genuine concern. Why on earth would he care if Kaoru was sick?

"That is of a personal matter. I don't know what game you two are playing, but it ends here. Do you two understand? Kaoru is not in any condition to participate. Now if you two will excuse me, I need to make sure that my friend is doing alright," and with that, Megumi sauntered off.

"What's eating her? She is smart though, catching on to us that fast, but calling me a weasel was going too far. I ought to-"

"Misao," Kenshin said as he stared at the doctor's back and only taking his eyes off her when she disappeared into the exit doors, "I want you to investigate. Kaoru is a candidate for the new party. It seems that she is connected to Bio Corporation."

"The one that's run by Takeda Kanryuu? There's sure to be foul-play going on if we dig deep enough. I'm on it boss man!"

After giving a mock salute, Misao too sauntered off to who knows where. As for Kenshin, he had some spying of his own to do. With a determined grin, he subtly followed Megumi to the hangar.

**Vocabulary:**

**Humanoid Armored Craft (HAC)- giant robots that are in the shape of humans and are piloted by them**

**ECM Serum- an acidic liquid that fuels a cyborg's brain and joints.**

**Valhalla- in Norse Mythology, this means the land of the gods.**

**Ragnarok- again in Norse Mythology, this means the Twilight of the Gods or simply put, the end of the world. **

**Phase Transfer- the ability to create a space distortion and store items there.**

**Hypershere- an electronic barrier in the shape of a sphere.**


	2. Fast Food

**Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai X**

**Chapter Two**

**Fast Food**

The hangar was large, smelled of oil and burned circuits, and noisy. Metal clanging against metal, HACs moving around, and mechanics' voices filled the air as Megumi walked briskly to where Valhalla was standing. It wasn't hard to spot. Valhalla was an original design and there weren't any crafts like it. As she approached the craft, she noticed some white steam coming out from several different joints. The HAC had probably burned too much fuel and didn't use enough energy during the battle so it was cooling itself off. She'd have to have a talk with Kaoru about the importance of conserving fuel back at the inn.

Kaoru was standing by the railings, staring blankly at another craft. _Probably studying her next opponent in order to formulate a strategy, _Megumi thought as she released a sad smile. She did that often. In fact, the doctor couldn't think of a time that Kaoru was _not_ formulating both a retreat and an offensive strategy against everything around her. Megumi wanted to believe that it was because Kaoru was reacting to the people around her (not a good emotional reaction, true, but still a reaction). The truth was a little harder to accept. Her superior had ordered her to install a defensive program within Kaoru's mainframe and it has resulted in a person who always thought that someone was about to kill her or those that she was ordered to protect. It came to the point where Kaoru was too difficult to control in society so they had no choice but to confine her within the facility that she had been living in for years.

"Kaoru!"

The girl turned her head and for a moment, Megumi thought she saw a semblance of a smile on her face. But that couldn't be right. Kaoru never smiled. She didn't even alter her voice tone patterns. The doctor waved but it wasn't answered back, just as she had expected but she didn't let that dull her mood. Nothing had gone wrong with this battle and that was enough to cause a celebration. They were finally getting her to the point where her systems were stabilized.

"That was an amazing fight Kaoru. Is Valhalla alright?" Megumi asked as she neared her patient. The doctor stopped a few steps away from Kaoru and took out her pen and her tickler.

"Humanoid Automaton Craft Valhalla's corporeal appearance is down by two percent. No internal damages have been detected. Fuel is down by ten percent."

"I see. We'll fix all that in a moment. And you?" she said, not really paying much attention but jotting down Kaoru's report just in case.

"I am well but an anomaly has been detected during the commencement of the battle."

At this, Megumi turned to her computer to check Kaoru's health. There wasn't anything wrong with her, the numbers on her screen told her that, so what was this anomaly that she was talking about?

"Please describe it to me," she said, voice firm and commanding. It was the tone that she often used with her assistants and she winced internally for using it on Kaoru. Kaoru was not under her in terms of position and deserved better than that tone of voice she had used. Besides, from experience, the girl did not react well with such tone patterns.

"The description I am about to provide is not one hundred percent accurate. Will that be acceptable?" she asked, not really noticing Megumi's slip f the tongue. Megumi only nodded in response, brows furrowed in puzzlement. Kaoru _always_ gave one hundred percent accurate descriptions down to the spot of mentioning decimal points, even if she said that she wouldn't.

"It felt as if I could not fight even though I was in full battle mode. My body was heavy and my respiratory track had a little trouble functioning. My heart rate increased by two percent in the duration of this abnormality. My scans say that there is nothing physically and mentally wrong with me and my logical drive is working at one hundred percent output. Human behavior suggests that it is called hesitation but I am not at all certain if that is the cause of the anomaly. Certain features in my mainframe were developed for-"

Megumi hadn't listened to the last part of Kaoru's speech. She was too busy turning possibilities in her mind. Hesitation? For as long as she'd known Kaoru, the girl never once showed an ounce of hesitation. Her logical drive made her give fast and accurate decisions that were always the best option to her missions. She did not hesitate, not even to injure herself to accomplish a mission. The word did not exist in her but…why was Kaoru experiencing it now?

It had been the same thing during the last tournament that they joined. At some point in the finals, Kaoru had started acting strangely and as a result, Valhalla hadn't been operating smoothly. It was as if she wanted to do something else besides follow her orders. Megumi hadn't installed a command circuit on her, a device that made it impossible for androids to disobey their programmers, but Kaoru had been so used to following her orders that it was possible that she had created her own program. It was like a child obeying an adult.

Could this development mean that Kaoru was growing up? Or maybe…

"Hmn…," Megumi murmured as she checked Kaoru's status on her compact computer, "I can't find anything wrong with only my computer. I'll have to give you a check up once we're back in Bio Corporation…how did you know that it could be hesitation? I don't think you've ever experienced it before."

"I read Medical and Research Division member Faust Knox's report on human behavior. From the data that I accumulated, I was able to formulate my conclusion."

On the corner of her eye, Kaoru spotted a flash of red and she turned her head to catch a better glimpse of it. She found only a number of mechanics and pilots running around and talking to each other. Her blue eyes roamed around, trying to spot what had caught her attention earlier but she couldn't see anything that had _that_ kind of reddish hue. It was almost blood like in color. The only red she could see were the faint marks of the uniforms of some of the pilots.

_Scanning…_

"Kaoru?" Megumi asked, concerned that the girl seemed to be distracted by something. When Kaoru was distracted, people always had the nasty habit of being sent to the hospital.

Kaoru turned her gaze back to Megumi's face and shook her head a negative. Megumi just cocked her head to the side and gave her a strange look before going nearer Valhalla. She switched the menu on her computer to the craft's signature waves and rechecked the damages that it had received during the battle. Several numbers appeared on her screen. On the right side was a circle, depicting a graph of the damages sustained and right below that circle was a small image of Valhalla rotating. Sentences came next as the computer processed the information that it was obtaining from the craft.

_Scanning…_

"Hmn…Alright, I'll order the necessary materials and we can get to fixing her," Megumi said as she typed a few things on the holographic keyboard. Reading the report one last time, just to make sure she didn't miss out on any detail, she turned her computer offline.

_Scan complete. No aggressive life form found. Three life signatures within a five meter radius detected._

"…rou…Kaoru?"

"Is something amiss Megumi-san?" Kaoru asked, finally recovering from her temporary hearing impairment. Scanning always made her less aware of her surroundings. It was the reason why she only used her scanners during special occasions.

"I should be asking that. What were you doing that I had to call you three times to get your attention?" Megumi questioned as she put both of her hands on her hips, depicting that she was not at all pleased by her patient's lack of attention.

"I was scanning the near vicinity for hostile waves. The scan has yielded a negative response."

"Oh…That's good, at least," the doctor responded as she put her arms back to her sides. The tickler was returned into Megumi's back pocket before she spoke again, "Since you finished your match ahead of schedule, why don't we go and eat? I'm sure that battle took a lot out of you."

"Acknowledged," Kaoru answered. When Megumi asked that question, it was always best to just take option that would acquiescence. Besides, she had a nagging suspicion about that third life form that her scan had detected.

-

From behind a metal post, Kenshin kept quiet as he leaned his back further into the column, trying to disappear into the shadows. He knew eavesdropping was often frowned upon in general society but the situation had called for it. He needed every advantage he could get if he was going to stay ten steps ahead of this Kaoru. And, from the report that Aoshi had sent him, he was positive that his information network would be able to provide adequate data on Bio Corporation but less than what he needed on Kaoru herself. His facial expression didn't give out anything as he eavesdropped on Kaoru's and Megumi's conversation.

"It felt as if I could not fight even though I was in full battle mode. My body was heavy and my respiratory track had a little trouble functioning. My heart rate increased by two percent in the duration of this abnormality. My scans say that there is nothing physically and mentally wrong with me and my logical drive is working at one hundred percent output. Human behavior suggests that it is called hesitation but I am not at all certain if that is the cause of the anomaly. Certain features in my mainframe were-"

Just like Megumi, Kenshin ignored the rest of Kaoru's report. In Megumi's case, the word 'hesitation' garnered this response. In Kenshin's situation, however, the word 'mainframe' was the one to blame for his lack of attention. What were they talking about? What mainframe? It was possible that Kaoru had with her a computer but from her report, that didn't seem to be the case. There was a nagging feeling at the back of his head but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out what it was. He cursed his lack of attention to her detailed report. It might have provided him with a lot more information. Perhaps when the report on Bio Corporation came in, he'd be able to figure this whole thing out.

He stayed hidden as he waited for Kaoru and Megumi to pass by his pillar. When he was sure that they were gone (_really_ gone as Kaoru seemed to have some sort of impressive scanners with her), he stepped away from his hiding place and approached Valhalla. The winged HAC looked down on him like an avenging angel. This new model was a work of art. He could tell that the designer had put his heart and soul into creating it. The design was a bit ironic to him. Angels stood for all the goodness in the world while war tasted of only death and despair. For a machine of violence to be modeled after one of the messengers of God…he sighed as he studied Valhalla. Misao had once told him that he delved on things too much.

He crossed his arms over his chest as he began formulating theories about this certain craft. He distinctly remembered the report he had read about one of Sanosuke Sagara's missions. The man had wanted to kidnap someone on the freight ship Armageddon but someone had stopped him. That same person ended up beating him to a bloody pulp too. He had seen pictures of Wyvern's damages and they had looked like they were from beam weapons. Beam weapons that left damages like a sharp object would. Kenshin narrowed his eyes at Valhalla, recalling the beam scythe that it wielded professionally. Then he picked up his dull grey communicator and established a link to Aoshi's computer. His communicator was not only dull grey, but it was one of the late models. He always had trouble operating the newer models. He scowled as he remembered the last time that Misao had given him an up to date communicator. It just ended up being a decoration in his room, slowly collecting dust from the lack of use.

It beeped twice before Aoshi picked the call up. A man with blue eyes and black hair appeared on the holographic screen. He was wearing his white trench coat and the blue shirt with the crest of the Oniwa Banshu at the upper left chest area. He had an air of authority about him that would intimidate people who did not know him. Misao was behind the stoic man, glaring daggers at Aoshi's back. It seemed that the two were having a tight discussion. And as usual, Aoshi's face was carefully blank but there was that telling sign of strained patience on his face that only time with the man could get you to notice it.

"Aoshi. I need you to find out when Kaoru Kamiya and Megumi Takani signed in at the Artemis Inn," Kenshin ordered. He knew that his image was black and white and that Misao was probably going to scold him later for not using the new modeled communicator _again _but he really didn't care at the moment. He would ignore her lecture just like he always did when she went on about his old fashioned ways. It wasn't as if he could help it.

"Alright. I'll send the necessary details to you in an hour," he said. No questions asked. Kenshin was, after all, Aoshi's superior and in their jobs, one never questioned the methods or the decisions of the person that that they called captain. Or it could also be owed to the fact that Aoshi was in a hurry to get offline so Misao and him could finish arguing about the latest development of the cases that they dealt with.

Kenshin nodded and cut the link. Nothing was certain yet but from the looks of it, it seemed that that freighter ship had been transporting Valhalla and Kaoru. He'd really be impressed with Kaoru's abilities if his suspicions were correct. No one, after all, just suddenly defeated the champion of the Winter Cup Festival for five times running. No ordinary rookie could do that even if they had a new model HAC at their disposal and the said rookie had an extreme talent with the operation of the said HAC. If he was right, if Kaoru really was the one to have defeated Sagara, then she was the perfect candidate for his team.

One of the corners of his lips quirked upward as he heard the soft footsteps stop a few ways behind him. The person didn't radiate a hostile feeling but it was still alert...and a bit tired. Did she actually run just to catch him in the act? He frowned as he analyzed the way that she was breathing and recaptured the moment in which she had softly touched the ground with her feet. She was tired and he could tell that her feet were aching. The tiredness he understood. She probably _did_ run here just to get evidence of any illegal activity she thought he had been doing. But the aching in her feet…the way that she had stepped so carefully hinted at the fact that the soles of her feet were sore. What else did she do?

Putting these observations to the back of his mind, he would ask her about it later, he focused on what he would say to her. He put his arms to his sides and prepared himself for the questions that he expected were about to come.

"…"

Kenshin blinked and waited awkwardly for a few more seconds for her to speak. When those few select seconds passed by in complete silence, he turned around to face her, confused by her lack of acknowledgement. And there Kaoru was, just standing there and staring at him, analyzing every movement he made. A thin sheet of sweat covered her forehead and her pants had lessened into a more controlled form of breathing. She shifted her weight from the left to the right. She was surely dedicated to her job, he thought as he waited in silence for her to recover. She didn't say anything to him, just kept staring at his face as if there was something there that only she could see and it was mesmerizing her.

_Yeah right, _Kenshin snorted inwardly, _wishful thinking man. _

Finding the silence not at all that bad, he returned her cold stare with one of his friendly ones. A kind and concerned smile graced his lips as he continued to wait for her to speak. He changed his plan. He was going to ask her just what she did that was causing her a significant amount of pain now but, a brief glance with his eyes concluded, he supposed there really wasn't anything he could do about it at the moment. There were no chairs available in the hangar because everyone was expected to work and not relax in this room. And, picking her up bridal style wasn't really a good idea. In fact, it could possibly be the most devastating thing he could do. Asking her to come with him to the infirmary would probably yield a 'no' from her. She probably thought that he had an accomplice with him. So he just settled for waiting for her to recover.

A few more seconds of the staring contest, in which Kenshin thoroughly enjoyed himself in watching her lose her patience, had Kaoru narrowing her eyes at him. It was just like their first meeting. The best way to describe them would be like two panthers circling one another other. And may lightning strike him if he lied now and said that he hadn't enjoyed their exchange of challenging perusals that day. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind. When she had left, he wondered who she really was. Besides for the fact that she worked for Bio Corporation, was a really good pilot, and that she had a doctor friend with her, he knew so little about this little cat. And he wanted to find out more.

"Himura Battousai, pilot of Ragnarok and captain of the Lanark, what information do you want that I have access to?" she asked, finally breaking the tense silence.

Kenshin raised a brow as his full identity was revealed to him. Obviously, she knew him so well as opposed to the fact that he was breaking his bones just trying get some sort of trivial information about her. As far as he was concerned, only high ranking officials had access to his information files. Who was she that she had admittance to such records? Or rather, who did she know that had access to such files? He didn't say anything and just studied her face. He wasn't used to people knowing about his personal files and it was a bit unnerving but her reaction was surprising. Usually, when people recognized him, they treated him with awkward respect and fear. He knew not to underestimate her, a lesson he had learned from watching her fight earlier (yes, looks can be _very_ deceiving), so he decided to give the best lie anyone could ever give; the half-truth.

"I just wanted to see Valhalla up close and I wanted to meet its pilot," he answered, never pausing a beat.

Again the silence reigned. He observed carefully as Kaoru's hands twitched. He filed this information at the back of his mind to be evaluated at another time and slowly walked towards her. He kept his stance relaxed but his eyes were anything but languid. The violet in his eyes had retreated to be dominated by amber fires. He knew what she saw, depending on what he felt, his eyes changed colors. Ever since he could remember, it had always been that way. His eyes tended to respond to his passions, his rage. At times, when he was away from his HAC and was fighting man to man, the enemy soldiers were often intimidated by his eyes. When he was at the base, people often whispered about him, saying that he was an amber eyed demon in the battle field. Everyone feared him. Everyone except for this little stray cat that he had stumbled upon one day at the Julia Bar.

He scrutinized every detail about her. From the way that the white light overhead created subtle shadows on her pale face, to the way her raven black hair slid perfectly in place. There was no ounce of detail he didn't commit to memory. This, of course, included the method in which her eyes were carefully blank but had the undertone of being vigilant in them. Why were her eyes so unexpressive?

He stopped a step away from her, his slightly taller frame covering her small form. He never took his eyes away from hers. Something flashed in those blue depths but it was gone in a moment. He couldn't be sure as to what it had been but at least he was making progress. They weren't so vacant anymore.

"Now that I've met the pilot, I'd like to ask her if she would like to have dinner with me at Reuben's tonight," he said in his low timbre voice. He allowed a small grin to show on his face at her reaction. Her eyes were wide with confusion and her mouth was a little open in disbelief. She was cute when she was caught off guard and Kenshin decided that he would do that more often just to see what other expression he could coax out from her. Then, seemingly remembering her code of behavior, she recovered and blinked, the vestiges of her emotions immediately disappearing. Stifling the urge to frown at her actions, he stepped back and awaited her response. He wouldn't be at all surprised if she flat out refused him. It would make the situation all the more interesting.

-

"Megumi-san," Kaoru spoke as the two walked on, "I should stay near Valhalla."

"Why is that?"

"The possibility of someone from an opposing force obtaining Bio Corporation data using a by-pass connection to Valhalla's core is seventy percent according to my data."

"I swear Kaoru. Sometimes you're just too much of a workaholic," Megumi said in exasperation. It wasn't the first time that Kaoru had foregone eating for security measures, "Go ahead. What food do you want?"

"Fast food."

"Alright…w-what?!" Megumi turned around with wide eyes and mouth open. She expected to see Kaoru staring at her with her blank face but what greeted her instead were the hangar's noisy atmosphere and the several pilots arguing and agreeing with the mechanics about how to repair their crafts. The only words that could penetrate Megumi's mind were 'she was fast'. Now this being an important observation, she had to think about it for quite a while. When her mind moved on, it pointed to a much more important detail. Did she just imagine that or did Kaoru actually say she wanted fast food?

Of course, it wasn't a crime to want fast food but this was _Kaoru._ The doctor had never received such a clipped answer from the girl. Megumi had asked that question out of sheer habit and every time she did, Kaoru answered with the nutrients that she lacked. Then, would suggest edible products for her to buy but not really telling Megumi what she _wanted_. And she would return with the healthy food that had nutrients that Kaoru rattled on about not having. Then Kaoru would thank her for the food and they would start eating together, most of the time with the several assistants that she had. Of course, not all of them were there for nutrient intake. They wanted to gather more data on Kaoru's progress and wanted to initiate some conversational tests.

It was their routine and it had never been broken in all the years that they had been together. Not until today that is. Megumi crossed her arms in contemplation. She could only think of one reason for Kaoru's behavior but she couldn't let herself believe it. She just _couldn't_. She couldn't let herself hope but still, the evidence was _there_. It actually hit her two times in the head already. She felt joy at the thought of Kaoru's abrupt development but like every other Eden, a snake lurked within her paradise. What if she was wrong? What if this was just some damage in her mainframe? She did say that an anomaly had occurred at the start of the battle. It wasn't presumptuous to think that she hadn't been successful in fixing her the last time that Kaoru had experienced such an anomaly within her delicate system.

Still…still the optimism was there. After all these years of responding like a machine, could Kaoru finally be developing a personality layer on her own?

_Odd…I never thought that Kaoru didn't like healthy food…of course, not many people liked the products that were labeled healthy food nowadays_, Megumi randomly thought as she dazedly continued her walk to the canteen. _Now what kind of fast food did she want?_

-

"Fast food," she answered and then she took off before Megumi could utter another word. She didn't even think about what Megumi's reaction would be or the fact that her ordering fast food would upset her nutritional balance. She had something very important to do and she needed to do it as fast and as accurate as possible. She dodged civilians and guards alike with fluid movements. Not once did she touch a person, only coming as close to an inch before she managed to twist again and avoid a collision.

Her scan had said that there had been three persons in the near vicinity but she had only counted two; herself and Megumi. The last one, she hadn't been able to pinpoint its direct location because of her limited sight. If she had her heat signature scanner with her, then it would have been no problem at all. But there was no sense in thinking about 'what ifs' and not to mention, she had no time to think about these things. She increased her speed value to one hundred percent and the scenery around her was but a blur to her as she focused on her target: Valhalla. She was near. She could already see one of its silver wings. She just needed to cross the connecting the hangars and then go down a flight of stairs to reach her HAC.

She had led her programmer away from the potential battle field to ensure her maximum safety. Her success rate at eliminating this unseen foe increased by twenty percent as the fact that Megumi was currently nowhere near the danger zone, fully registered in her mind. She didn't have to think about her programmer being hit by a stray bullet and so, her focus would be completely on defeating her enemy.

She came to a sudden halt as she reached the bridge. Her breathes came in pants, a result of her lack of exercise lately. Even since coming to Prima Mel, she had been neglecting to improve on her endurance. She leaned at the railings and looked down, measuring the height. She estimated it to be about thirty feet. Her muscles can handle the impact of forty feet so she could see no problem with jumping off from this point. She blinked once and stood on the railings. There were some who shouted at her to get down from her spot but she paid them no heed. She readied herself and jumped off. Shouts of disbelief followed her decent. She positioned her body, hands ready to catch herself in case she failed and braced her legs for the impact of the floor. She landed on both of her feet and didn't miss a beat as she rolled to avoid injury. She ended up in a one knee kneel.

The pain in the soles of her feet traveling up to her legs had her stilling for a moment before she stood up and continued her run. She didn't notice the people who stared at her retreating back in disbelief. Valhalla was a few meters ahead of her and there, she could see someone with red hair staring at her HAC. Was she too late? Had Valhalla already been hacked? If that was the case, then she had no choice but to take the information by force if she had to. She slowed her sprint into a jog, then finally into slow steps. She was careful to keep her steps light as every movement caused needles to prick her feet. Maybe jumping off that bridge hadn't been such a good idea. She shook her head and quickly dismissed the idea. It would only take her a few minutes to recover from the self inflicted wounds and it had been the fastest way to Valhalla. With the current stakes taken into account, what she did was the most logical, if risky, option that had been available to her. Correct?

_Correct,_ she thought as she stopped a few steps away from the red headed human. It was him again, the man that had moved so fast that she hadn't been able to notice it until it had almost been too late for her to defend herself or her programmer. She could understand now as to why he had ranked a 'critical' in her hazard rating. She controlled her breathing but couldn't seem to do anything about her pounding cardiac muscle. She _knew_ that he knew that she was there. She could guess by the way that his shoulders had tensed as he slowly lowered his arms, as if preparing for a battle.

She waited in silence for him to turn around and say something. It was impolite and out of the rules of etiquette if she were to attack him now just because she suspected him of stealing information. He turned around, looking at her in perplexity. Was she the one who was supposed to initiate a conversation? For as long as she remembered, other had always talked to her first before she was allowed to speak. What would be the point in speaking if she already acknowledged their presence with a glance anyway? Communication was for relaying messages and that was it. She didn't have any messages to send to this Himura Kenshin and so, she kept quiet. He seemed to find her way of acknowledgement amusing though, and she narrowed her eyes as she contemplated how to begin the conversation (since it seemed that he was waiting for _her_ to talk).

"Himura Battousai, pilot of Ragnarok and captain of the Lanark, what information do you want that I have access to?" she asked, finally arranging the words that she needed in the correct order. She watched him as he raised one scarlet brow at her. Did she say something inappropriate? She mentally recalled her sentence and try as she might, she could see no errors in the way that it had been constructed. It addressed him, his title, and it was clear. Perhaps there was something wrong with her-

"I just wanted to see Valhalla up close and I wanted to meet its pilot."

Her full attention came running back to him. So he did understand her. There was nothing wrong with her language system after all. Perhaps it was a human way of interaction to raise a brow when being addressed? Her programmer never did it when she spoke to her and neither did the Medical and Research members. Was this a reaction unique only to him? She analyzed the report that Faust Knox made about human behavior but couldn't seem to find a way to explain his behavior. The file had been left accidentally in the laboratory and she had stumbled upon it. She hadn't been able to sleep and didn't have anyone to give her orders. She had too much energy stored and she had tried to wear herself out by walking around in circles in the laboratory. The report caught her eye and she read it just to pass the time. By the end of the report, she had gained significant knowledge on humans and had successfully depleted her energy reserves.

Perhaps it was best that she ask him why he had reacted in such a way. During her analytical research, he had moved forward and only stopped when they were one step apart. She felt wariness stir inside of her at his violation of her personal space. According to the report, it was erroneous during first meetings to stand so close to each other. He knew that since he was an adult human. He was disregarding the rules of society purposely. But why would he do that? He was taller than her by at least an inch or two so she didn't have to crane her neck upwards just to meet his eyes. When she did, however, she felt a bit of surprise at the sight. They were not the violet that she remembered. Instead, they were the color of amber. The urge to step back was strong because of the way he was staring at her but she fought it for doing so would be showing weakness. In a battle, she should never show any weak point for the opposing force would no doubt use it against her.

Kaoru was about to open her mouth to voice out her query of why he was standing so close when she could hear him just fine from where he had been, when he spoke again.

"Now that I've met the pilot, I'd like to ask her if she would like to have dinner with me at Reuben's tonight."

For the first time in her life, Kaoru was at a loss for words. She didn't know whether to agree or disagree. She had never had her meals scheduled by someone else other than Megumi. She wasn't even aware that her mouth had opened and her eyes were wide with shock. Then she got a hold of herself and analyzed his invitation with logic. It was harder to do, seeing as he seemed to be comfortable being just a step away from her. She, however, felt trapped and with the feeling of being trapped came the warning signals for her to be free. It was difficult to ignore those signals but she did it nonetheless. It might be the most illogical thing to do in this situation but jumping away from him and ending up falling off a hundred feet railway was even more illogical. The good thing about her lack of action was that he backed away.

Now that she was virtually in control again, her mind started to evaluate all the facts that were given to her in this circumstance just as Megumi had told her to whenever she felt confused about something. Fact one: going with someone she did not know was a bad decision. Megumi would scold her for it. Fact two: during her examination of him, Himura Kenshin's hazard rating was critical; therefore, it would be unwise to accept his invitation unless she was slated for disposal. The two facts led to the option of refusal and she voiced out her answer.

Or at least tried to. Megumi beat her to it.

"I'm afraid Kaoru will not be able to come," the doctor said as she neared them both. She was holding two bags of food. She raised a brow on Kenshin's leisurely stance, "Kaoru will need all the rest that she can get and I thought I told you that Kaoru is not in any condition to receive guests?"

"That you did," Kenshin murmured as he locked gazes with Megumi, not hiding the fact that he had ignored her warning, "Bio Corporation seems to be busy as of late, don't you think so Miss Megumi? I had no idea that they had begun to manufacture HACs." He swung his gaze at Valhalla and placed his hand in his pockets, a gesture of an uncaring attitude but in reality, he was recording their conversation with his computer.

"What do you mean?" Megumi questioned, suddenly a little wary at where this conversation was leading to.

"I would have thought _you_ would know. You are from Bio Corporation are you not? Pretty high ranked as well so I'm sure you're privy to such information," he said as he evaded Megumi's eyes and continued staring at Valhalla, "The freight ship Armageddon had been attacked by an unknown craft six months ago. That unknown craft came home in ruins. From reliable resources, I have confirmed that Valhalla had been the only HAC onboard the ship so I'm assuming that it was Valhalla that defended the Armageddon," he said and turned back to Megumi, his voice taking in a much more unyielding tone, "the said HAC is a property of Bio Corporation, as evidence by your presence and the crest on Valhalla's forehead, it seemed safe to assume that the company has begun to mass produce weapons although no record of any production has been made at the Federation Catalogues."

"From the records that I have been given, Valhalla is the only HAC that Bio Corporation has manufactured although unregistered. The files did not contain information on the production and the distribution of other artillery though. Will that help your investigation?" Kaoru inquired.

The doctor's eyes swung to Kaoru's face in shock. Although the girl's voice had been deadpanned, the fact remained that Kaoru had contributed to the conversation. Kaoru had not once since her recovery, willingly conversed with someone (much less provide information that she hadn't been asked to give) unless she had a question or she was being questioned. That or she was ordered by someone higher than Megumi's status to speak up.

"I see. Thank you for that information Miss Kaoru and yes, that does contribute to my investigation," Kenshin said, turning his gaze from Valhalla's intricate designs to Kaoru's empty eyes. So Valhalla _was_ unregistered weaponry. This investigation could lead to more than a potential recruit it seemed. He kept Megumi's reaction to her companion's reply at the back of his mind to be assessed at a later date. With deliberate slothfulness, he took out a small data disc from his pocket and wordlessly handed it to Megumi. He was aware that Kaoru was watching his every move and his stifled the amused smile tugging at his lips. The way that she considered him such a threat was flattering.

"The captain of the Lanark is inviting you both to dinner at Reuben in the 8th District tomorrow. The details are all there. He is looking forward to meeting the two of you," and with that, he bid the two of them a good day, his eyes lingering on Kaoru for just a little longer than necessary, and walked away like nothing had ever happened between the three of them.

"How presumptuous! Who does he think he is?"

"My data bank has told me earlier that he is Himura Kenshin, captain of Lanark and pilot of Ragnarok. He is also known for-"

Megumi didn't let Kaoru finish her reply for she had begun sputtering in disbelief. Then she became silent and forgot breathe.

"Megumi-san? Is something amiss? You have gone considerably pale."

At the sound of Kaoru's voice, she remembered what her lungs were made for and decided to let them do their job. Then Megumi wondered if she should just kill herself right then and there. HAC accidents always happened. She _could not_ comprehend the fact that she had just met a high ranking officer and, recalling the earlier events at the VIP box, could not _believe_ that she had actually done that to him. It would be a miracle if she still had her job by tomorrow. She sighed. Desperate for a drink, and massaged her aching temple when she remembered that the bar was a long ways away from the hangar or rather the coliseum. Too many things were happening in one day. She shook her head. First thing's first. She needed to drill Kaoru that attacking a high ranking officer with a steak knife was not a very good idea.

"Well Kaoru, it seems that we have caught the eye of one of the most powerful man in the galaxy. It would be disrespectful if we refused such an invitation. I'm going to need to make sure that you're ready for that," Megumi said as she leaned her back on the pillar that the captain of Lanark had been using earlier as a hideaway. She failed to notice how Kaoru's eyes didn't leave Kenshin's back until he turned around the corner. Neither did Kaoru notice Sanosuke Sagara staring at her from the top of her next opponent's HAC with fury in his brown eyes.


	3. Ragnarok

**Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai X.**

**Chapter Three**

**Ragnarok**

Megumi reviewed her report on Kaoru's progress. She was supposed to submit it through e-mail today and was just making sure that she had every data correct. Kaoru had won every battle that had been thrown at her way with only minimal damage to Valhalla. It was a massive improvement compared to the time when the girl first piloted the craft. It took her less than five minutes to destroy half the training ground without using the rocket launcher and simultaneously render Valhalla's arms and legs useless because of too much use of energy. It was the result of the still unstable system of Valhalla and Kaoru's complete wave connection with it. At that time, watching the girl continuously destroy everything in her path, Megumi had felt the first vestiges of fear. She had been afraid at the catastrophe and hadn't been able to stop her legs from shaking.

No one in history could render that big of an area into flames and debris in less than five minutes. Kaoru's strength, agility, and way of thinking were that of a robot. She did not show mercy or compassion. She just…followed orders and combined with Valhalla, she had been close to unstoppable. It was the reason why Megumi had installed a limiter in Valhalla's core. It ensured that the training ground event would never happen again. If ever Kaoru's psyche became unstable while she was within Valhalla, it would automatically fry her circuits. The installed defense system should have made the fear vanish. Should have because it didn't. It took her a while to admit it and when she did, she felt ashamed of herself for feeling that way. She hadn't been afraid of Valhalla. It was Kaoru that terrified her. With a mind that could perform vast calculations in a second and a body that had the strength of three people, Kaoru was a danger to society.

Looking at her now, sleeping soundly on Valhalla's pilot seat, one could hardly believe that she was capable of killing thousands without so much as a pint of regret or sorrow. Kaoru always looked so much more _human_ when she was asleep and less guarded. The poor girl was probably exhausted from the battles. She had gone through five opponents nonstop and the pressure from both the crowds and her enemy had probably been too much for her body. It was, after all, only her second time being in a place with this large amount of people. The doctor flipped her black hair away from her shoulders. Perhaps that was what they were doing wrong. They were isolating Kaoru from everyone and so, she didn't have much experience with talking to people. What would you do if your memories consisted of only a lab and an empty white room? What would you become if you've never breathed the air of freedom? Many times, Megumi thought to bring Kaoru to the outside world and teach her that not everything would bring her harm but…

_M-monster…_

_Eliminating enemy unit._

_Kaoru!_

Megumi added the final information to her report and sent it to Bio Corporation. She swore to herself that she wouldn't think of that anymore. There was no point anyway. She already knew what Kaoru was capable of and she didn't need another reminder of what kind of being she had unleashed upon the world. She checked Valhalla's condition with forced fervency. Its chest plate had been damaged during the last battle and had yet to be repaired. As a result, the plate was slightly bent inwards. That was the problem with Valhalla. Due to its light materials, its defensive capabilities were lower than the standard HAC. But who needed defensive mechanisms when your opponent could barely hit you anyway?

_Take care of her. I don't want her to end up in the lowest level of the facility._

Megumi sighed as that particular memory decided to show its face to her. It had been her best friend and superior, Tae Sekihara, who had uttered those words to her. Like Megumi, Tae had worked on Kaoru from the very beginning and had supported the girl's funding throughout the years. She remembered that Kaoru had been fond of Tae before. The girl had made sure that Tae had been comfortable and even fetched a cup of coffee on the nights that she knew Tae would be working late. Megumi let a sad smile form on her pale face. Kaoru hadn't made coffee after Tae had died two years ago. She had not said anything when Megumi had delivered the news to her-_Kaoru…Tae won't be coming back to work-_ and just processed the data into herself and automatically made the doctor her new programmer. But Megumi knew. It was in the subtle way she displayed herself after that fateful day. Kaoru had become colder, a lot more like a machine. The stuffed animals that she had gotten from both Tae and Megumi were placed inside her locker, covered with a white sheet so as to prevent dust from taking them over.

The worst thing that came to be that day happened in Kaoru's room late at night under the false reassurance of the satellite's almost holy like luminosity. Kaoru had a toy that she always treasured. It was a small mechanical lizard that had been known in myths to be a dragon. It was always by her shoulder, recording events and keeping Kaoru company. She had kept it in pristine order and never failed to fix it if it was damaged ever since she had first awakened. The moment that Megumi had found the small black dragon sadly hidden in the closet with the rest of her toys, she had felt as if she had lost another sister, that she had failed another person close to her. That toy was the only belonging that Kaoru had that really _belonged_ to her because she had it with her before her accident. That toy had been Megumi's and Tae's last hope of getting Kaoru back to her real form because it signified that she still felt something even if it was just for a toy but with it deactivated and hidden from the world, the doctor had felt like her lungs had been stabbed. She hadn't been able to breathe, hadn't been able to move or think even as she had slowly crumpled to the ground in shock and despair.

She had lost Kaoru and she hadn't been able to do anything about it. Just like with Tae, Megumi had been forced to just watch as another person close to her vanish from her sight.

But…

_Fast food._

_From the records that I have been given, Valhalla is the only HAC that Bio Corporation has manufactured although unregistered. The files did not contain information on the production and the distribution of other artillery though. Will that help your investigation?_

But the way that Kaoru had acted earlier with the Lanark captain suggested that she had some sort of initiative. Kaoru only acted when she had orders to operate upon and her actions were always categorized under the field of that specific order. That time, however, she hadn't had any orders to contribute information (unless someone was giving her orders without Megumi knowing about it) but she did anyway, a sign that Kaoru was capable of thinking on her own. But then again, maybe it was just her. Maybe Megumi was just trying to convince herself that Kaoru was acting this way because she had actually felt that she wanted to help when she met the Lanark captain and not because of an implanted system inside of her that made her want to protect the head researcher by gathering information and the fact that her AI system (a program that enabled Kaoru to learn based on her experiences) was functioning properly.

_So…which one was it?_

"A body without a soul…it seems too surreal to be true," she murmured as she turned her computer offline and pocketed it.

But it was true. The living proof was right in front of her, eyes closed and maintaining the image of absolute serenity. Kaoru was indeed without a soul but, Megumi's eyes took on a hard glint, but that was no reason to not believe that the girl wouldn't acquire one. The girl had not died, she was just broken and Megumi was still searching for the pieces of her soul so that she could put her back together. It was by no means easy, but nothing in life ever was. Just look at the progress she had made already. Kaoru had begun to show signs of being able to actually _want _something like fast food, (she had asked for another after her third battle) no matter how Megumi thought that it wasn't healthy for her. Kaoru was slowly stitching herself back together and that was enough for Megumi to feel the light of day without the sense of dread of what ifs.

"Kaoru…it's time to get up," she whispered and calculating blue eyes revealed themselves to the world.

It was during the semi-finals that chaos erupted. Kaoru was having a difficult time hitting her opponent because it was too flexible. Valhalla's chest plate had been discarded a few minutes ago because it had absorbed too many hits. Every time that Kaoru attacked, her adversary would anticipate her move and avoid then deal a counter attack with its beam sword. It was a good thing that the enemy HAC had little reach so Kaoru could avoid its attacks easily. Valhalla's chest plate had been hit earlier by an unexpected rocket punch; thus, the reason as to why the enemy unit was now only sporting one hand. Valhalla's scythe was out and ready to strike again. Only one jet engine was activated, the one on the feet as using both engines would require a huge amount of fuel. Kaoru could already tell that the battle was going to last a lot longer than the usual and thought it best to conserve fuel. The enemy was a Volt, a slow but flexible HAC with high defensive attributes. It had short reach but had a better sight range than most HACs and it burned twice as much fuel as Valhalla. Kaoru was relying on that gluttony for this fight.

The only warning Kaoru got was the red signal on her right screen telling her that there was an oncoming missile descending unto the battle field. Accordingly she looked up, Valhalla's neck following her muscle coordination, and saw that the missile was coming from outside the hypershere. From what her HAC had been able to gather, the projectile was loaded with machine scrambling nanobots: Anti-mecha Nanomachines (AMN). These microscopic androids would enter a machine and confuse its signals, rendering it incapable of moving and sometimes even destroying the system itself. Fortunately, the AMN tend to short circuit themselves after an hour of being deployed. Still, it was enough time for an enemy unit to completely destroy a HAC or a security building with its many defensive structures. It was the reason as to why using any kind of AMN for any expedition was illegal.

There was absolutely no defense against AMNs so, instead of blindingly searching for an escape route (there was none, really) she just stood there and awaited the explosion. It came soon enough. The eruption of the flames above as the missile collided with the hypershpere was almost like an explosion on a star's surface, fire reaching out its tentacle arms to those that were near and burning the life out of them. Then it began, people began screaming and running as the arrow like flames started to reach the stands. Kaoru looked at Megumi's position and saw that she had employed an electronic shield around herself. The AMNs could easily render the computer that controlled that shield incapable of function. But Megumi didn't know that. All she knew was that someone had launched a missile at the coliseum. Kaoru let Valhalla face her programmer and rushed over to the VIP box. The hypersphere disappeared, proof that the nanomachins were doing their jobs, just as soon as Kaoru reached the box. She dropped the scythe, ignoring the way that the blue beam blade disappeared and left only a metal pole, and covered Megumi's small form with both of Valhalla's large hands as the flames reached them.

When the worst of the explosion passed, Kaoru quickly got out of Valhalla, the machine kneeling on the ground in the process. She had already felt the nanomachines entering her HAC. It would be dangerous for someone like her to stay physically connected to her machine especially if her brain had mechanical parts in it. Megumi wiggled out of the artificial cave that Kaoru created for her and stared at the destruction that was dancing in a song of catastrophe before her. The stands that were once full of cheering people were littered with burned bodies and debris from the walls. Blood soaked some of the seats and several electrical wires were going berserk. Every machine in the vicinity was either offline or going out of control and causing more havoc. She turned and looked at Valhalla. The HAC seemed to be incapable of moving and as Kaoru stepped out, a bit dizzy, and jumped into the VIP box next to her, Megumi let a sigh of relief flutter out of her.

The worst was not over yet though. Several feet above the coliseum was a black armored carrier with the symbol of a five pointed star on its side and it was dropping soldiers into the battle field. Kaoru scanned their uniforms and the symbol and searched her memory for anything similar but found that they were not registered in any of her data banks. _A new terrorist organization,,_ Kaoru thought as she stared at the rapidly descending militia who were heavily armed. Beside her, Megumi had sent out a distress signal to the Federation Army Base that was located only a light-year away from the Prima Mel colony. The signal was up for only about two minutes before her computer malfunctioned and went offline.

"Megumi-san, the enemy is employing AMNs," Kaoru said explaining the phenomenon of the malfunctioning computer, "Your force field will not last much longer. You must run away. The closest escape route would be the coliseum entrance. I will stay here and hold them off. Please hurry."

"That's insane Kaoru! We're leaving together. If AMNs are in the area, then you're in danger as well. I have not spent several years on you just to lose you to these idiots!"

"Megumi-san, you leaving is the most appropriate action to take. You are far more important than I am to Bio Corporation and they could not afford to lose you. Please hurry before they reach us," Kaoru answered as she checked Valhalla's functions. Every part of the craft was sending mixed up signals except for one arm but that was good enough for what Kaoru was thinking of doing if Megumi was going to answer the way Kaoru thought she was.

"Stop it this instant Kaoru! You are coming with me! That is an _order_!"

Kaoru didn't respond. Instead she suddenly yanked Megumi's wrists, making sure not to hurt the doctor, and kicked the seat nearest to her so that it dislodged from the stand. Then she grabbed it and secured the sputtering doctor there, making sure that the makeshift seatbelt, her hair ribbon, kept the doctor from injury. If Megumi was not going to escape on her own will, then Kaoru would have to force her to do it. She raised a hand to Valhalla and the HAC responded by grabbing the seat. A connection like hers and Valhalla's was a special one. Even if Kaoru cut the physical link, some vestiges of waves would still be present, allowing the machine to perform basic functions at the command of its rider. Kaoru turned Megumi's shield online and waited as the barrier surrounded the doctor. It would protect her from falling debris and any explosions for a while. Enough time for her to get out of this place. She didn't listen as Megumi kept demanding that she let her go.

It was the first time that she had ever disobeyed an order.

"Kaoru!"

"Megumi-san, please take care of yourself."

And then Valhalla launched the seat over the coliseum walls. Kaoru was confident that all the injury the doctor would have would be a slight disorientation due to the sudden shift in momentum and the rocky transition from the coliseum and wherever it was (preferably in the direction of the space port) that she would land. Kaoru could not leave with Megumi even if the girl thought that it was best that she go with the doctor for protection. She had disobeyed the doctor's order because she had another one to follow.

_Valhalla is a top level security unit. It is as important as your programmer._

She turned back to Valhalla and put it into phase transfer using her bracelet. She didn't know if it would be the last time that she would be able to summon Valhalla but if was, then at least her opponents wouldn't be able to get their hands on it. Activating her bracelet once again, she pulled out a metal sword from the distortion before the interruption from the AMNs caused the hole to close. She looked at the direction of where the enemy units were approaching and stood her ground.

Megumi cursed as she crashed into a wall and went through it, only to land beside a red car. She deactivated her shield and looked around. She was a few ways away from the coliseum and it would take at least thirty minutes to get there on foot. Kaoru also mentioned that the place was infested with AMNs so it was pointless to use a car. Megumi quickly detached herself from her impromptu escape vessel. Kaoru was going to get a mouthful once they saw each other again. The girl had deliberately ignored her orders and sent her as far away from the battlefield as she could. It was too late to go back for Kaoru. Letting out a growl of frustration, Megumi hotwired the car and drove to the nearest space port. If ever an emergency situation like this occurred, Kaoru and Megumi were to meet up with each other on Alkaid's ruined sector eight. The place was a slums district now and didn't contain any federal army soldiers or any soldiers for that matter as the citizens there detested anyone in the army or terrorist groups, so it was the perfect place to meet up.

She was careful to keep away from the busy roads and the places where other enemy HACs were spotted. Two kilometers away from the spaceport, she had to abandon her car due to heavy HAC units surrounding the area. She would have to sneak past them and it was a lot easier to do so by foot than in a floating vehicle that could easily be engulfed in flames. She put everything she had into sneaking inside, ducking behind cars and trashcans, hiding in the shadows, and redirecting her path into dirty alleyways. Once or twice she had come close to being discovered but she had quickly been able to hide herself. Soon, she made it to the lowest level of the port and made her way to the launch pads. No one was inside; all the employees were either captured or dead. She didn't have time to worry about them. She needed to get out of this planet and go to Alkaid. From what she remembered, that certain planet was located ten light years away from this one so she needed to gate jump to get there. Best to find a pod that had that certain feature.

Twenty minutes of nervous silence and hiding under sturdy tables later, Megumi was safely tucking herself inside of one of the pods that had a gatejump feature on it. She would first go to Metanoia, a federation scouting port, and then use a different ship to go to Alkaid. She couldn't risk being followed. Megumi set her course with a determined glint in her eyes. Just before she was launched into space, she let herself gaze back at the double doors that were the exit to the launch pad. Megumi hoped that Kaoru would miraculously appear and ask Megumi to wait for her. She turned her gaze away as the pod began to move, making a bit of noise that attracted the soldiers outside, knowing that it was a stupid wish. It was too late though. The pod launched and quickly sent her through the atmosphere and into space.

Kaoru had not been able to make it so Megumi guessed that it was in Alkaid that they would have to be reunited. She closed her eyes as the pod went through the atmosphere, causing a few nervous bumps inside. A few minutes later, all feelings ceased to exist. Megumi opened her eyes and stared at the sight in front of her. Eternal darkness and small blinking lights stared at her in the face. Then she noticed a large ship off to the right. The battleship was deploying several HACs that looked the same as the ones that attacked Prima Mel. She was thankful that her chosen course was heading away from that certain field. She pressed a few buttons, telling the computer about the place where she wanted to go and pulled a lever. The surrounding area of the circular pod started to distort and it was pulled into a gateway. A few seconds later, Megumi found herself inside a place that had blue beams of light gliding past her. It was the gate column. Getting too close to those beams of light would throw a vehicle out of the jump or damage them enough to get them to overheat and explode. It was one of the leading causes of death in this age. Apparently, some people thought it was fun to try gate surfing, a deadly and illegal sport where they used the tail end of their ships to surf on those beam of lights that they liked to call waves. The more experienced surfers get out of it completely unscathed but the ones that were doing it for the first time almost always ended up dying.

Once in a gatejump, no one would be able to follow a craft unless they happened to be going in the same direction which was impossible since there was one in a million chance of another ship getting the same coordinates and the same column. It was the reason as to why she was so started when a HAC grabbed a hold of the tiny pod. She looked up, eyes wide and unbelieving as the HAC that had attacked Armageddon destroyed her vehicle's controls by linking its computer with that of the pod.

"Hey there fox. I'm sorry I'm late. I'll be sure to pay double your friend for destroying my Wyvern," Sanosuke Sagara said through the communication link. Megumi glared at the cocky grin he wore and crossed her arms over her chest. First the attack on the Armageddon (thankfully Kaoru was there to suppress it), then Prima Mel's take over, and now this? Just what on earth was going on? Did she miss some sort of cataclysmic event?

"What on earth do you want? Why did you attack Armageddon and why are you hindering me from reaching my destination?" she asked as she continued to glare at the man she had secretly named 'rooster head'.

The bastard only winked at her. "I'm just following orders toots."

"Toots?! You dare call someone as high ranked as I am a vulgar term you over grown rooster?!"

"Now wait a minute fox! That's going too far!"

One soldier, a lieutenant from the looks of it, stood out from the rest and it wasn't because his uniform was slightly different. It was in the way that he held himself in front of the many soldiers that were killing the civilians and guards alike. His stance was unwavering even as a Prima Mel soldier came at him with a beam sword. He didn't so much as spare a glance as one of his own men shot the guard directly on the head. His white hair was being ruffled by the hot air coming from nearby explosions and his tinted glasses hid the insane glint in his eyes. His smile, however, emphasized just how much he was enjoying the massacre around him. His muscular arms were crossed in front of him and a metal sword was at the left side of his waist and a beam gun was resting on his right. He brought his hands down, one going to his left while his right hand was poised upwards, as if it was preparing itself to type something. A second later, a holographic keyboard appeared under his poised hand and he began typing several commands to the computer in his glasses.

The images showed the map of Prima Mel. He selected a sole district, the one they call Belias, and enlarged the image. He saw countless fires and wrecked cars. Buildings were being destroyed and the roads were painted red with blood and black with soot. People were running for their lives, others were screaming in terror at what was about to happen to them. There were many bodies strewn about, most were mangled, and his men littered the area. He selected a specific place, the floating coliseum. The was place was in worse condition than the others. There were black smokes rising from it and it was tilted to the side, slowly going falling into the city to kill even more civilians. Bursts of flames and electricity cried out from its core as a finale to this mad song of destruction and with it all, Yukishiro Enishi held the baton of the conductor. This was his stage and the chaos was his music. It was a song to be remembered, to be written down in history. And wouldn't it? Of course it would.

But, entertaining the audience wasn't the only reason he was here creating this music. A red blip showed on the map and he focused on it, enlarging the image and going through walls. The image showed two women, a Megumi Takani and a Kaoru Kamiya. Both seemed to be to on a discussion and the taller one had started yelling in anger. Kaoru, however, was not faced and answered accordingly. Then the she grabbed the doctor and tied her to the chair and sent her flying away from the coliseum. She then proceeded to hide her HAC and brought out a sword. She was going to buy as much time as she could for her lady friend. How noble of her. Too bad it wouldn't help her in the situation. Especially when she was Enishi's target. He had been ordered to kidnap a certain princess and take her to their base. Apparently, she possessed a certain ability that his boss wanted to take advantage of. And was he not an efficient soldier? He had ordered the use of AMNs in that specific part of the city just to capture her as well as immobilize any additional forces for the army aka the tournament HACs. And, looking at the way that her struggles with his men were weakening and the fact that none of the battle ready HACs were moving, his strategy was working. Now he just needed to pick her up. He sent out a call signal to his HAC and soon, an unregistered red craft came soaring down from the sky like an eagle diving after its prey.

It was tall and bulky with its red and silver armor. Its fire colored helmet had a golden horn at the forehead and so did its shoulder guards. Its chest place had the symbol of the five pointed star on it and it didn't posses any knee guards. It only had one arm, and it was currently holding a large sword, capable of slicing a HAC into two in just one swing. The other appendage consisted of only a large black floating hand with golden claws. On its back was a large beam weapon and on its sides were small missiles, ready to be fired at a moment's notice. The light from the fires surrounding it gave it an eerie glow.

"It's time for the knight in shining armor to make his appearance. Isn't that right, Gungnir?" Enishi said as his HAC landed in front of him and kneeled down to let its rider inside.

Kaoru grunted as she blocked a strike that was aimed at her neck. Sparks flew as the two metals collided with each other. Another soldier to her left raised his sword and swung down, aiming for her shoulder. Without moving her arms from their blocking position, she lifted her leg and caught the part of the sharp blade that was an inch above the hilt in a steady block with the heel of her boot. Fortunately, her boots weren't just for walking. They were specifically designed to withstand a certain amount of force and were tough enough to block most sharp objects, including swords. Balancing on just one leg, she twisted her sword and sent the first soldier off balance with a firm push while trying to over power the soldier to her left that was trying to get his sword to reach her body. With a glance, she spun around, bringing her foot down and missed the blade by a few centimeters. Then she kicked her opponent's foot while he was still in motion, setting his balance off and letting him tumble down stairs. Three more were coming at her. She gripped her sword tightly and went into an attacking stance, sword hand forward and both knees bent. She waited until they were within the VIP box before she launched her first attack. Muscles tensing, she lounged a thrust at the nearest soldier. It was blocked, as she expected. She quickly changed her stance and put more force into her harm. Occupied with trying to defend his torso, the soldier didn't see Kaoru's fist until it connected with his nose.

He groaned and stumbled back. It was enough opening for Kaoru to thrust her sword deep into his chest. She twisted the blade, making sure to inflict as much damage as she could before she had to retreat her sword to block out another attack on her person. This time, the enemy aimed for her stomach. She lifted her right foot and kicked the sword's handle and followed though until it connected with her opponent's jaw. She heard a satisfying crack before she spun around, kneeling in the process, and cut his legs with one fluid strike. He fell, screaming in pain as his blood dirtied Kaoru's white uniform. The remaining soldier was debating on whether he should wait for reinforcements or just attack her head on. Kaoru didn't give him the time to decide as she ran towards him with her sword ready to strike. He raised his weapon, attempting to block her attack, but Kaoru pulled back at the last moment. Instead of slashing downwards, she did a reverse somersault and caught the man in the chin. Once he landed, Kaoru held his face and broke his neck. She looked up to see more soldiers coming for her. She was going to lose if this kept up. She needed to retreat and find a more advantageous ground. Grasping her sword more tightly, Kaoru stepped back as one of the soldiers slashed at her knees. Before he could bring his sword back up, she stepped on it and jumped backwards, going high into the air, higher than any normal human being had any right to jump. She did a 360 spin before landing on her feet, a few ways away from her opponent. Then, she threw her sword at the ceiling, cutting the wires that were barely holding it together, causing the precariously tipping metal to collapse on top of the soldiers, killing them and simultaneously blocking them from her.

She turned and ran to the corridors, intent on finding a way out of this place, as both the exit and the entrance were already covered in flames and even if she did make it through the fire, she was positive that the teleportation pads were already incapable of function. In the middle of running, she felt an electric current from her head run through her veins, leaving a burning sensation in her flesh, momentarily leaving her paralyzed. Startled and suddenly weak, she could do nothing but slowly kneel on the cold hard metal of the floor. A glove covered shaky hand, caused by the weakening in her limbs rather than actual fear, rose to her temple. She sent a command to scan her systems and was rewarded by several of her programs malfunctioning or shutting down. Some were even permanently damaged. She could still move but that electric current had been her main scanner burning out. She didn't have a map now and her main data banks were inaccessible. Over her head, the lights turned on and off, becoming a signal to Kaoru to get moving. Rising to her feet, she continued her run albeit a bit clumsy this time-her logical drive must be sending all kinds of signals throughout her body. She had to get out of this place lest she risk losing more than she had already.

Judging from the way that the dark hallway was tilted slightly to the left, it wasn't absurd to assume that the coliseum had begun its decent. It would probably take at least thirty minutes before the AMNs destroyed the coliseum's remaining jet engines. She had to find a way out of this place within that time. If she remembered correctly, there were balconies around the building, meant to be scouting spots and tourist attractions. She had already been there once because Megumi wanted to get away from the many machines in the area. A sign on the walls told her that this was the west wing. Taking the left from the second intersection should take her directly to the west balcony.

She didn't know what she would do once she got there though. She would probably jump, assuming that the coliseum was low enough for her to make it out alive but if not…that would probably be the end. She'd bought as much time as she could, not only for Megumi but for the others that hadn't been able to get out of this place. It should be enough to help the surviving civilians escape or give them time a few precious seconds to say their last words before death claimed them.

Kaoru turned to the left in the next intersection and followed the hallway. She spotted the corpse of a soldier pinned against the wall with a bloody sword. Slowly, she pulled the sword away, not minding in the least that the hilt was covered in red liquid. The body dropped in front of her and she searched it for any more weapons before coming up empty handed. She looked up and spotted the end of the hallway. Gripping her new found weapon, she jogged to the end and reached a door. The door was opened but not enough to get her to squeeze through it. She had to push it to get it to create enough space to let her through. At least she wouldn't have to worry about anyone sneaking up behind her.

The wind was strong out in the open. If she wasn't careful, she might get carried away since it seemed that the gravity regulators were out. She made her way to the edge slowly and grabbed a hold of the railings. It wasn't any good. The coliseum was still too high up for her to be able to jump down. There didn't seem to be any way out. An explosion occurred somewhere that shook the entire building. And then, the coliseum's descent increased in speed. It seemed that another jet engine fell pray to the AMNs. Kaoru estimated that there would only be one more to destroy before the place fell apart.

The girl looked down once again and saw three terrorist HACs flying about, most probably scouting the area for any more Prima Mel guards. If she timed it right, she would be able to land on one of them. They were high enough (not close enough to get the AMNs to interfere with their systems) that she could use them as a sort of ladder to get down safely and if she could, she'd get control of one of them. Plan of action decided, she stood, balancing on the railings and waited for the fatal moment. Her blue eyes narrowed as she gripped her sword tight enough that her hands were turning white with the pressure. She watched as one of the crafts approached and stopped to configure something. Kaoru jumped off the balcony, sword raised to impair the head of the HAC. She didn't know if it would work but it was worth a try. The worst that could happen is that her blade would break.

She didn't get a chance to put her plan to the test though as before she landed on the HAC, another one had grabbed her. The gigantic hand squeezed her small body, cracking some ribs and making her let go of her sword. She gave a pained gasp as it continued to tighten its hold on her. This was the end. She was going to die here.

Suddenly, the arm of the enemy HAC separated from its body. The next to be torn apart was the wrist, causing the hand that held Kaoru's form to go limp and let go of her. Kaoru was too shocked to register that she was free and that she was falling head first. Before she could do anything than descend a couple of feet, another mechanical hand shot out and caught her easily. This time, it was gentle and didn't try to hurt her. She turned her head, trying to see what HAC had saved her but another electric shock went through her body, making her scream in pain. This one was longer and took a lot more out of her once it left. She panted, earning her more pain from her broken ribs, and tried to get a sense of what had just happened. Her dazed eyes looked once more at the HAC that caught her. All she could see was the hazy shape of something humanoid (a HAC most probably) and red. She blinked and tried to get a better sense of sight but it only kept getting worse as the surrounding view darkened. She was aware of someone calling her but it sounded so far away and her consciousness was fast fading. Her last thought before she succumbed to sleep was that the voice sounded familiar.

Enishi looked at his prize and grinned at the way Kaoru's unconscious body was every bit at his mercy. That stupid soldier had almost destroyed her, a top secret military weapon. He was actually amazed that this living weapon had managed to make it this far without any injury (the broken bones didn't count as they were dealt by a HAC). He knew that several of her programs were malfunctioning and that was a testament as to how powerful Kaoru really was. Most machines would succumb to the realm of sleep almost immediately when the AMNs were deployed but not this one. This little humanoid killing machine even attempted to destroy one of his soldiers' HACs with just a sword and looking at the way that she had almost reached her designated target, he could tell that the sword would have pierced through the armoring and would have instantaneously kill the pilot inside. What an amazing work of art this weapon was. It was just too bad that the bones were made out of calcium and not metal. Perhaps they could fix that in the near future. Giving a most despicable smirk, Enishi opened the core of his HAC and placed Kaoru on the floor beside his seat. Then, staring at the weapon's pale face for a second longer than necessary, Enishi made Gungnir fly towards space, towards where his ship was located.

It was over. They had acquired what they had been sent to get and with it, the occupation of Prima Mel. It was a wonderful day.


End file.
